Planting implements such as planters and drills are used for planting seeds in agricultural fields. Planters and drills include a frame having one or more sections. Each section supports multiple row units configured to apply seeds to a field as the implement is pulled across the field by an agricultural vehicle (e.g., a wheeled or tracked tractor). The seeds are stored in a seed bin mounted on or pulled behind the implement. Planting implements often include systems for applying granular or liquid fertilizer, insecticide or herbicide to the field.
Planters include seed meters configured to dispense or meter individual seeds to row units for application to the soil. In contrast, drills use fluted rolls to meter a mass or volume of seed. The metering and placement accuracy is typically higher for planters than drills. Seeds of crop (e.g., corn) requiring relatively accurate metering and placement for efficient growth are typically planted using planters, and seeds of crop which grow efficiently in more varied environments (e.g., oats; wheat) are planted by less accurate and expensive drills.
Many types of planters and drills are made by Case Corp., the assignee of this invention. For example, the 955 Series EARLY RISER CYCLO AIR.RTM. Planters have central-fill seed bins for storing seed, pressurized air metering systems including cyclo seed meters for metering seed, and air distribution systems for delivering metered seed to row units. Planters in this series plant different numbers of rows at different row widths. For example, a 12/23 Solid Row Crop (SRC) Cyclo Planter plants 23 narrow rows or 12 wide rows when every other row unit is locked up. Drills made by Case Corp. include the 5300, 5400, 5500, 7100 and 7200 drills which include different numbers of openers, opener spacings and seeding widths. For example, a 5500 Soybean Special Grain Drill includes 24 openers, 5 inch spacings and a 30 foot width.
Planting implements such as those described above may be equipped with variable-rate controllers permitting the operator to plant seed at target seed planting rates. Such implements may further be equipped with monitors, whether integral with or separate from the controllers, for displaying theoretical or estimated planting rates. An example of such a controller is available on the 955 Series Planters discussed above, and examples of such monitors are the Seed Flow II and Early Riser monitors sold by Case Corp. The seed planting rates are estimated because the above-described controllers and monitors do not include mechanisms or systems for counting the seeds actually planted. Rather, the rates are estimated based upon known and monitored parameters such as the meter constant (i.e., metered seeds per meter drum revolution), meter rotation speed, row width and distance traveled.
Depending on the condition and adjustments of the planting implement, estimated seed planting rates may deviate substantially from actual seed planting rates. For example, operator adjustments to 955 Series Planters which may cause errors between estimated and actual seed planting rates include: the pressure setting of the cyclo metering and distribution systems; the setting of a seed cutoff brush which removes seed from seed pockets in the drum; the height of a seed chute extension affecting the level of seed in the drum; and the height of a leveling bar ensuring the uniform distribution of seed across the bottom of the seed drum on hilly terrain. For drills, operator adjustments include the setting of a mechanical gate at the seed meter. The gate is a sliding panel that regulates the size of an opening at the base of the seed bin, and the gate setting selects the seed meter exposure (i.e., the amount of the meter in contact with the seed).
Planting implements have been adjusted based on the results of a calibration procedure wherein the seed meter is cranked a predetermined number of rotations while the dispensed seed is collected in a bag or container. The contents of the bag are manually weighed or counted to determine the amount of seed dispensed, and the planting implement is adjusted based upon the dispensed amount. The procedure is repeated until the correct adjustments are made. The need to repeat the calibration procedure multiple times is both time consuming and frustrating.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system for maintaining the planting rate of a planting implement based upon an actual or sensed seed count. It would be desirable to display maintenance seed planting rates in a format easily used to determine the difference between the actual seed planting rate and a target rate. It would also be desirable to allow an operator to make on-the-fly adjustments of seed planting parameters (e.g., air pressure, brush spacing, etc.) while displaying the effects of such adjustments to the operator in real-time. The display would indicate when the actual seed planting rate comes into general correspondence with a target seed planting rate. Such an improved maintenance system would eliminate the need to manually collect and then count the seed delivered during a predetermined interval, and would eliminate the need to repeatedly calibrate and re-adjust the implement until the actual seed planting rate comes close to the target rate. It would further be desirable to allow maintenance adjustments to be made while the planter remains still or to be made independent of speed.